News has broken that veteran defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been cleared to resume rehab activity. This comes after fracturing his neck in early May in a one person vehicle accident. First off and most importantly. This is great news for the 30-year-old ex Giant, as neck fractures can hinder physical activity as well as affect life down the road. It seems to have healed quickly and properly for him though.
Pierre-Paul had shown some pictures and video of him without the neck brace he’s been in since May. He has also been both back at practice as a spectator and at the Bucs last preseason game on Friday night. Since then he has been cleared by both independent doctors as well as team doctors to start rehab. Pierre-Paul being cleared is huge, but he is still a ways away from practicing with the team and getting back into gameplay and rightfully so. JPP will now be working on building muscle and flexibility in his neck and getting back into football shape. When the injury happened, it was first announced he was okay and out of the hospital until it was later found he had a fracture in his cervical spine.
When will he be back?
Early reports when the injury had first happened in May suggested that Jason Pierre-Paul could be back by October. However, he seems to be on track if not even ahead of schedule and could be back earlier. Tampa won’t be rushing Pierre-Paul back but a good guess would be the first week of November, or week 7. That would put the Buccaneers at the end of their long road journey beginning week 3 in Los Angeles and ending week 8 in Seattle against the Seahawks.
The Impact
Having Jason Pierre-Paul back will be a big boost to Tampa defense. Their defensive line would consist of a nasty big three in Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea and JPP himself. Pierre-Paul will have his first looks in a new 3-4 Defense that should allow him to pick up where he left off after a 12 and a half sack season in 2018. JPP is a focal point of Tampa’s defense and they’ll be eagerly waiting his return. For a team that is in win-now mode, there couldn’t be better news.
